For Lawrencia Moten, basketball and communication studies went hand in hand. The daughter of Syracuse icon Lawrence Moten first earned her bachelor’s degree in Communication at the University at Buffalo in 2017, according to her LinkedIn profile. The following year, Lawrencia Moten transferred to the University of Hartford, where she pursued Digital Communication and Media/Multimedia until 2020. It was at Hartford that she also took the court. A 6-foot-2 forward from Bowie, Md., she joined the Hawks’ Division I women’s basketball team.
Her junior year in 2018–19 showed glimpses of her potential before a season-ending injury brought it to an early close. In 16 appearances, she averaged 2.0 points and collected 34 rebounds and six steals. The season included a six-point outing against Princeton, a repeat performance against UMBC, and strong defensive showings against Miami and Southern Illinois. As per recent headlines by Men's Journal, it is confirmed that her father, Lawrence Moten, has been found dead at home, leaving his family to mourn the loss of the Syracuse legend.
According to Primetimer, Lawrence Moten is survived by his wife, Noelene, and their two daughters, Lawrencia and Leilani. Noelene Abigail Moten has worked as a professional school counselor at Prince George’s County Public Schools between 2018 and 2024. The couple’s younger daughter, Leilani, built a career in finance. She served as a private banking analyst at J.P. Morgan from 2023 to 2025 before joining Merrill Lynch Wealth Management in April of this year as a financial solutions adviser.
Syracuse basketball great Lawrence Moten found dead at 53:
The Syracuse basketball community lost one of its icons on September 30, when Lawrence Moten was found dead in his Washington, D.C., home. He was 53. His daughter, Lawrencia Moten, confirmed the news, according to Syracuse.com. Moten had recently taken on the role of general manager for both the boys’ and girls’ basketball teams at Digital Pioneers Academy. At the same time, he continued to share his knowledge of the game as an assistant coach at Gallaudet University.
His legacy at Syracuse remained unparalleled. From 1991 to 1995, Moten became the program’s all-time leading scorer, amassing 2,334 points, while also setting the Big East Conference record with 1,405 points. As Gallaudet noted, he was the only player in NCAA history to record at least 500 points in four straight seasons. He capped his collegiate career in 1995 with a degree in human development.
Before father’s death, Lawrencia Moten had entered her third season as an HBCU Go reporter:

Long before she mourned the death of her father, Lawrencia Moten had been building momentum in her broadcasting career. Amsterdam News reported in August that she had entered her third season with HBCU Go, the national media outlet for Historically Black Colleges and Universities.
Her assignment spanned 13 weeks, beginning on August 30 with Hampton facing Jackson State. Throughout the fall, Lawrencia Moten worked the sidelines for HBCU Go’s syndicated broadcasts.
“We have doubleheaders pretty much every day on the network; there are cable games and then there are games on syndication, I’m doing basically all the Division I teams,” she shared.
Moten’s coverage spanned the MEAC and SWAC, along with other HBCU programs such as Hampton. Lawrencia Moten had been especially enthusiastic about the HBCU NYC Football Classic scheduled for September 13 at MetLife Stadium, featuring Howard University against Morehouse College.
“HBCU Go has done a tremendous job with the schedule in making sure that we get a lot of classics,” she explained.
For Moten, the work went beyond the action on the field. She had taken on most of the preseason interviews with coaches and players, ensuring their stories reached viewers.
“I’ve really made it my job to be the connector between the athletes, coaches and our broadcast crew, this year, specifically, I made sure that I was doing pretty much all of the coaches’ interviews and most of the student-athlete interviews during media day,” she explained.
For Lawrencia Moten, the spotlight has shifted from the court to the broadcast booth. While she mourned the passing of her father, she continued to connect athletes, coaches, and audiences through her storytelling.
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